We recently received from LiteOn, their 1653SX (eXternal), the well known 16X/12X DL recorder. The 1653SX (as it is labeled on the back of the drive's case ), uses a 1653S drive with the only significant change being that of the interface where internally it is an IDE drive with an external USB 2.0 interface. We put the drive through some of the error correction and protected game tests and no difference between this model and the internal one were noted. So we will not be reviewing the drive fully, but instead we will only be testing some of its reading capabilities as well as of course its writing potential, which are the tests that might produce different results due to the external interface and possibly firmware. The tests that are not included in this review but refer to the same IDE version of the drive can be found here.

The 1653SX can write up to 16X with DVD+R media, up to 12X with DVD-R media, and 4X with DVD+RW and -RW. It can also write DL media up to 4X burning speed.

- Features

This LiteOn release follows the same pattern as other LiteOn drives regarding features, including the well known Smart-Burn which helps avoid Buffer Under Run Errors and Smart-X technology.

Below are the drive's main specs as given by NeroInfoTool and DVDInfoPro:

The drive uses the RPC II region control, allowing a
user to change the drive's region at most 5 times. In our case we had already set it to Region Code 2. However, since this is a
LiteOn drive, you can set the drive to region free using
several readily available utilities.

Below is some additional information from KProbe regarding
LiteON drives:

- Retail package

The retail package contains the following :

The External DVD±RW drive

a quick installation guide

a CD kit for application software containing DVD authoring

writing and editing software

DVD software

Backup software

Users manual

USB driver for Win 98 OS

a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Standard cable

AC/DC Power adapter (100V to 240V)

power cord (Multiple type)

- The Drive

The LiteOn 1673SX will be reviewed alongside two other external drives, the LG 5160D and the Philips ED16DVDR.